Wii U To Cost $300 At Retail, $180 To Make

Nintendo is the only company that started out the last console generation by making a profit on every unit sold and apparently it aims to keep the same line with the Wii U. Forget the Box reports that the part cost for Nintendo’s tablet toting new flagship console is sitting at around $180, with $50 of that unsurprisingly going just to the controller.

This is purely an account of hardware cost, without factoring in software development, distribution, PR and all other associated costs which will also contribute to the expected final retail price on $300. It remains to be seen whether an HD Wii with a touchscreen embedded in its controller can command a premium over its predecessor’s launch price, though software will more than likely make that decision for Nintendo.